The cookies of Asia - Page 6 | Free lunch still has its costs - Page 20 | Health is wealth - Page 36
ACHILLES TENDONOSIS
PUSHING THROUGH PAIN
Read it on page 27
VOLUME XIII, ISSUE II
STRESS EDEMAS
AVULSION FRACTURE
Highlander Staff Highlander Editor-in-Chief Isabelle Nunes
Scot Scoop Editor-in-Chief Elle Horst
ScotCenter Editor-in-Chief Phoebe Gulsen
Social Media Editor-in-Chief Mira Bhatt
Managing Editors Chelsea Chang Amber Chia
Faculty Adviser Justin Raisner
Editors Allison Raisner Andrew Shu Anika Marino Austin Li Chesney Evert
Claire Tseng Erin Kee Grace Wu Raina Lahiri Rebecca Von Tersch
Staff Writers Aidan Lynd Andrew Tolu Anita Beroza Anna Wilkinson Anoushka Mekerira Cali Shohet Cambell Kirk Carolina Cuadros Catherine Eikelbarner Elise Hsu Erin Kee Ethan Man Glydelle Espano Isabel Wright Izaan Masud Hanna Kryhina Hayes Gaboury Hudson Fox Isa Khalak Isabel Wright Jack Hansen Jenica Su Jessica Conley Joshua Barde Julia Roseborough Kai Yoshida
Karla Lee Kasey Liu Katherine Tsvirkunova Kaylene Lin Kayley Ebaugh Keegan Balster Kiana George Leanna Gower Lindsay Augustine Lucy Lopshire Madelyn Mercado Malina Wong Mandy Mah Marrisa Chow Maya Campbell Maya Kornyeyeva Niamh Marren Nyah Simpson Oliver Fichte Payton Zolck Robin Linares Sabrina Lo Soleil Dam Sophia Gurdus Sophia Mattioli Zachary Kinder
Highlander is a newsmagazine dedicated to providing Carlmont students, staff, and community with highquality news, features, and opinion articles. We want to keep our readers informed on important issues ranging from events at Carlmont to international news, and want to engage them with unique stories and designs. Highlander is a publication completely run by the students of the journalism classes at Carlmont High School. Story ideas are generated by the students and the published content is up to the direction of the editorial staff.
LETTER FROM THE EDITORS Dear reader, Welcome to the first issue of Highlander in 2022—we hope the new year is treating you well thus far! In this issue, our center spread discusses harmful athletic culture, where athletes have been held to a certain standard to “push through” their pain. Often, young athletes are encouraged to ignore their injuries to the detriment of their mental and physical health. Unfortunately, they continue to face an expectation to perform at their highest level despite the potential consequences injuries can have on their health. By sharing this topic, we aim to shed light on the toxic athletic culture that normalizes injuries and brings athletes personal harm. The dangerous habit of overlooking injuries applies to professional athletes and Carlmont student-athletes alike. In this issue’s Scotlight, student-athletes share their experiences of when they were encouraged to “push through the pain” and discuss pressures to ignore their injuries. Ultimately, we hope that the emphasis on these stories will spread awareness about a topic that typically doesn’t receive enough attention. But without further ado, we hope you enjoy our second issue of Highlander for the 2021-2022 school year! Much love,
ISSUE 2 / HIGHLANDER 2022
CONTENTS SPORTS 16 Final year as high school athletes sparks reflection 18 Disparities are apparent in sports funding
CAMPUS
20 Free lunch still has its costs 22 Scots through and through 24 Compostable plastics aren’t so eco-friendly 26 Students take mental health days
FEATURES
32 Dangerous effects of X-rays 34 Is driver’s education enough? 36 Health is wealth 40 Ransomware attacks: a growing threat to educational institutions
Scotlight: Pushing through pain Read it on page 27
42 Pets are the key to happiness
FUN
OPINION
4 The variations of the bean
46 Editorial: Greenwashing is a dangerous practice
6 The cookies of Asia 8 Cozy cabin recipes for a winter’s day
10 Warm your heart this winter 12 A beginner’s guide to astrology 14 Recipe for a screen-free day
48 Prestigious colleges aren’t worth the price 49 Homelessness is a human rights issue 50 Gun control is not the answer 52 Unspoken beauty standards reveal social biases
The variations of the bean Maya Kornyeyeva
One sip. Your mouth tingles from the rich flavor of the coffee, warming you up from the inside. The cream blends smoothly with the sugar, and you can just detect something light and floral. You inhale the comforting aroma as you set the cup down and begin your workday. Coffee, a beverage made from roasted beans harvested in tropical areas all over the world, has captivated millions of people throughout the world, creating devoted consumers with its wide variety of flavors and styles. The cultivation of the coffee bean first originated in Ethiopia in the early 15th century, developing into a desirable trade item as its influence spread into Persia, Egypt, Syria, Turkey, and the Arabian Peninsula. A single seedling from the coffee plant was brought to America in the early 18th century and eventually flourished into the cultural phenomenon that we know today, filling stores with coffee beans from coast to coast. In fact, according to History Daily, coffee culture in America erupted after The Boston Tea Party’s act of civil disobedience inspired a massive switch from tea to coffee among the colonists. Coffee’s intriguing history aside, the diversity in flavor is one of the main attractions for customers, who are able to choose between Arabica beans and Robusta beans, as well as dark roast, blonde roast, and medium roast selections. The levels at which coffee beans are roasted are directly related to the strength of flavor. Dark roasted beans
tend to be deep and rich, with a velvety texture. On the other end of the scale, light or blonde roast beans are floral and fragrant, with sweeter undertones. The area where the beans are grown and harvested is also influential. Arabica beans, which originally come from the Arabian Peninsula, contain notes of chocolate and sugar. In contrast, their counterpart, Robusta beans, are grown in Africa and Indonesia and possess a stronger and more bitter taste. Additionally, the methods used to brew the coffee can impact their final aroma. Machines like the French Press, Percolator, and Drip, along with steeping techniques like Pour Over, Cold Brew, Espresso, and Nitro Cold Brew all result in vastly different looks and flavors. Arguably the most popular coffee preparation method is espresso, which combines a fine grind of coffee beans and high water pressure to create several ounces of very concentrated coffee. Often, espresso is combined with sweeteners and creamers to create endless varieties
of iced and hot caffeinated drinks. Espresso can also come in Ristretto (extra concentrated) and Long Shots (less concentrated). Besides its appealing, flavorful diversity, coffee is known for the energy boost it provides. According to Healthline, its primary ingredient, caffeine, is the most commonly consumed psychoactive substance in the world and acts upon the body in a way that increases adrenaline levels and decreases feelings of fatigue. This attribute makes coffee widespread among students and early morning commuters, who spend an average of 1.8 billion dollars on 400 million cups of coffee daily, according to PBFY Flexible Packaging. Whether you get a large cup of black coffee, six shots of espresso, or perhaps even a glass of Cold Brew, this roasted bean beverage is sure to raise your spirits and increase your energy. Enjoy that morning cup of joe.
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Coffeeology Espresso is loved by adults and teens alike. Here are nine of the most popular espresso beverages available at almost any coffee shop throughout the United States.
Foam
Water
Espresso
Foam
Milk
Espresso
Espresso
Espresso
Whipped Cream
Foam Milk
Milk
Milk Mocha Espresso
Espresso
Foam
Milk
Ristretto Espresso
Espresso
Whipped Cream Ice Cream
Espresso
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 5
The cookies of Asia Karla Lee
Discover a diverse range of delicious cookies packed with unique flavors, ranging from sweet ube crinkles to savory murukkus.
Kleicha (Iraq) Main ingredients: dough, nuts, dates, sesame seeds Kleicha is a fragile cookie loaded with nuts and a spread of date paste. The cookies can be shaped like crescents or full moons to represent the arrival of Spring. Most often, people eat Kleicha during special ceremonies, like weddings, or casually as dessert.
IRAQ
Almond Cookies (Hong Kong) Main ingredients: almond flour, almond extract, butter, sugar, water Each bite of a Chinese almond cookie comes with a burst of buttery almond flavor, suitable for those who prefer a sweet and simple cookie. Chinese almond cookies are often eaten during Chinese New Year and as snacks and desserts. Many people eat these cookies believing that it will bring good fortune. The cookies originated in Hong Kong but are also very popular in China.
INDIA
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Ube Crinkles (Philippines) Main ingredients: Purple yam, powdered sugar Ube crinkles have crisp outer layers and soft, chewy centers, perfect for those who prefer sweet and mochi-like desserts. The cookies are usually eaten as desserts or snacks.
Dasik (Korea) Main ingredients: grains, sesame seeds, pine pollen, honey syrup Dasik has a wide range of flavors, satisfying everyone’s taste buds. Some of the popular flavors are green tea, berry, chestnut, and black sesame seeds. The cookie takes no effort to bite into with its soft and chewy texture. Dasiks are decorated with flowers or Chinese characters that create meanings like long life, luck, health, and peacefulness.
Murukku (India) Main ingredients: rice flour, black bean flour, oil, spice powder
KOREA
Murukkus are crunchy, savory cookies with the flavor of butter and a mix of spices. They are usually eaten during festivals and snacks in Southern India.
CHINA
Thong Muan (Thailand) THAILAND
PHILIPPINES
Main ingredients: wheat flour, sugar, eggs, shredded coconut, black sesame, coconut milk Thong muan, also known as Golden Crispy Coconut Rolls, gives a mix of sweet and savory flavors from coconuts and coconut milk. The cookies are generally eaten as desserts and snacks. Many people give these cookies as gifts to wish wealth for that person.
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 7
Cozy cabin recipes for a winter’s day Mandy Mah As the holiday season ends and a new year rolls around, it’s easy to forget that we’re still in winter until embraced by the chilly air upon stepping outside. Stay warm with these cozy cabin recipes that are a must-try for the winter season this year!
Hot chocolate cupcakes with marshmallow buttercream Recipe by Ashlyn Edwards from belle of the kitchen
Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two muffin tins with cupcake liners and set them aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, salt, baking soda, and baking powder. Mix well. 2. Add in vanilla, eggs, buttermilk, and vegetable oil mixing until smooth. Pour in hot water and mix well. Batter will be very thin. 3. Pour batter into prepared cupcake liners, about ⅔ full. Bake in preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool completely on a wire rack. 4. To make the frosting, beat softened butter with an electric mixer over medium speed until smooth and creamy. Add in marshmallow creme and beat until combined. Finally add in the powdered sugar and vanilla, scraping down the sides of the bowl and mixing until smooth. 5. Top the cooled cupcakes with frosting, then sprinkle each one with mini marshmallows, chocolate chips, and crushed candy canes. Add a candy cane handle by inserting the hook end of the candy cane into the top side of each cupcake. Enjoy soon after decorating.
Makes 28 cupcakes
350°F
38 minutes
Ingredients:
Cupcakes: • 2 cups all-purpose flour • 2 cups granulated sugar • 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder • 1/2 teaspoon salt • 2 teaspoons baking soda • 1 teaspoon baking powder • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract • 2 eggs • 1 cup buttermilk • 1 cup vegetable oil • 1 cup hot water Buttercream: • 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened • 1 (7 oz) container marshmallow creme • 1 cup powdered sugar • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Toppings: • Mini candy canes, cut to fit • Mini marshmallows • Chocolate chips • Crushed candy canes
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Makes 12 rolls
350°F
2 hours, 15 minutes
Ingredients:
Homemade cinnamon rolls Recipe by Fleishmann’s Yeast
Instructions:
1. Combine 2 cups flour, sugar, dry yeast, and salt in a large mixer bowl and stir until blended. Place water and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH in 15-second increments until very warm but not hot to the touch (120° to 130°F. Butter won’t melt completely). Add to flour mixture with egg. 2. Beat for 2 minutes at medium speed of an electric mixer, scraping bowl occasionally. Add 1 cup flour; beat 2 minutes at high speed, scraping bowl occasionally. Stir in just enough remaining flour so that the dough will form into a ball. 3. Knead on a lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic and dough springs back when lightly pressed with 2 fingers, about 6 to 8 minutes. Cover with a towel; let rest for 10 minutes. 4. For the filling, combine sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside. 5. Roll dough into a 15 x 10-inch rectangle using a rolling pin. Spread 3 tablespoons butter over dough stopping at least 1/2inch from the edges on the long sides. Sprinkle with cinnamonsugar mixture. Beginning at the long end of the rectangle, roll up tightly. Pinch seams to seal. Cut into 12 equal pieces. TIP: Use unflavored dental floss instead of a knife to cut rolls. To do this, cut a piece of floss about 12 inches long. Slide floss under the roll; bring the ends up and cross over to cut each slice. Place, cut sides down, in greased 13 x 9-inch baking pan. Cover with towel; let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 6. Bake in preheated 350°F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until rolls are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack for at least 20 minutes. 7. Combine all frosting ingredients (start with 2 tablespoons milk and add more if needed) in a large bowl and beat until creamy. Spread-over rolls.
Dough: • 4 ½ to 5 cups all-purpose flour • 1/3 cup sugar • 2 (4 ½ tsp.) packets Fleischmann’s® RapidRise® Instant Yeast • 1 teaspoon salt • 1 ½ cups water • 6 tablespoons butter OR margarine • 1 egg Filling: • 1/3 cup sugar • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon • 3 tablespoons butter OR margarine (very soft) Frosting: • 2 ½ cups powdered sugar • 2 tablespoons butter OR • margarine softened • 2 to 3 tablespoons milk • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 9
Warm your
this winter Glydelle Espano
As the winter season is upon us, thaw your heart with these anime and comic suggestions. With the recent popularity of Asian media, many people opened their hearts to anime and Asian comics. I am recommending a wide range of anime and comics that will warm people’s hearts this winter but are not limited to romance.
“KIMI NI TODOKE” GENRE: ROMANCE EPISODES: 24
“KAGUYA-SAMA: LOVE IS WAR” GENRE: ROMANCE, COMEDY EPISODES: 24 (ONGOING)
If you’re looking for an adorable anime, “Kimi ni Todoke” is the show for you. “Kimi ni Todoke” is filled with cute, wholesome, and funny scenes that’ll make you blush and squeal with every episode. Sawako Kuronuma is an outcast, feared for bringing bad luck because she resembles a famous horror movie character. Her life changes after meeting Shouta Kazehaya, who helps her overcome the rumors and make new relationships.
“Kaguya-sama: Love is War” will surely thaw your heart this winter with laughs and giggles. In their struggles to make the other confess first, this rom-com anime centers between the oblivious duo, Kaguya Shinomiya and Miyuki Shirogane. “Kaguyasama: Love is War” greets you with hilarious moments between the main couple and the student council of Shuchiin High School, where different events happen every episode, making this anime a bundle of surprises— romantic, comedic, you name it!
My rating: 10/10
My rating: 9/10
“ASSASSINATION CLASSROOM” GENRE: ACTION, COMEDY EPISODES: 47
A hopeless class of students train to assassinate their dangerous octopus teacher, forming unusual bonds and connections throughout the anime. “Assassination Classroom” includes a variety of genres, ranging from action to comedy, that’ll surprise and thrill your heart along the way.
My rating: 10/10
“KIZNAIVER” GENRE: SCI-FI, DRAMA EPISODES: 12
“Kiznaiver” is just the anime to stir up your emotions in this chilly weather. This anime focuses on experimenting with feelings, as the main characters share their pain and emotions through an experiment and become “Kiznaivers.” Watching this anime will take you on a journey that exposes the main characters, allowing you to feel a sense of connection to them.
My rating: 8.5/10
“AO HARU RIDE” GENRE: ROMANCE EPISODES: 12
Are you more into simple, charming high school romance? Then watch "Ao Haru Ride," an anime that focuses on the relationship of a pair of childhood friends that fell apart due to miscommunication. The two meet again in high school, yet they've changed beyond the point of recognition. This anime displays the rekindling of their relationship with cute and bittersweet moments blossoming in the process.
My rating: 8/10
“VINLAND SAGA” GENRE: ACTION, DRAMA EPISODES: 24 (0NGOING)
This show is more than just Vikings. “Vinland Saga” stars a Viking boy whose heart yearns for vengeance at a young age because of his father’s death. To get stronger, he teams up with his nemesis to be able to eventuallly defeat him. This anime will sail you away with suspense and great action scenes.
My rating: 8/10
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“SEASONS OF BLOSSOMS” GENRE: ROMANCE CHAPTERS: 67 (ONGOING)
“Seasons of Blossoms” consists of multiple short stories centered around a group of friends. Each story arc covers a new couple with a different plot. While the manhwa is cute in nature, it also covers serious issues, such as depression and loss, making a safe space for all who relate.
“WILL YOU MARRY ME AGAIN IF YOU ARE REBORN” GENRE: ROMANCE CHAPTERS: 22
Old couples always have stories to share. “Will you marry me again if you are reborn” focuses on an old couple retelling the tales of their youth. The couple tells tales about their growing love and adult struggles, letting you relive their past, which will surely thaw your heart this winter.
My rating: 8/10
My rating: 10/10
“TEENAGE MERCENARY” GENRE: ACTION EPISODES: 44 (ONGOING)
“SPY X FAMILY” GENRE: COMEDY, ACTION CHAPTERS: 56 (ONGOING)
Interested in action with a dash of wholesome? “Teenage Mercenary” is the comic for you. Yu Ijin, a young mercenary, finally finds his family and decides to start anew. However, his life of action doesn’t stop, as he meets new conflicts at school while still facing previous foes. This anime will satisfy you with well-illustrated fighting scenes and an exciting crew of characters.
My rating: 10/10
“Spy X Family” centers around a family that consists of a spy, telepath, and assassin—but only the telepath child knows their true identities. This manga introduces a wholesome family trio that’ll make you laugh on every page, as they have to carry out their real jobs secretly. You’ll see as this makeshift family starts forming a genuine connection that’ll warm your insides.
My rating: 10/10
“HEESU IN CLASS 2” GENRE: ROMANCE CHAPTERS: 89
“Heesu in Class 2” portrays the life of a teenage boy, Heesu, struggling with his sexuality. Heesu acts as a love advisor due to experience from his sisters. Heesu, how never experienced a real relationship himself, as he secretly likes his male best friend. His life changes as he gets closer to his neighbor, who takes this manhwa on the wholesome route.
My rating: 9/10
“WELCOME TO THE BALLROOM” GENRE: SPORTS CHAPTERS: 62 (ONGOING)
“Welcome to the Ballroom” displays impressive art and an engaging storyline to capture the reader into the world of ballroom dance. You’ll follow the main character, Tatara Fujita, in his journey of falling in love with ballroom dancing. “Welcome to the Ballroom” will fill your heart with passion, as the characters dedication for dances leaks through the pages.
My rating: 9/10
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 11
A beginner’s guide to astrology Anoushka Mekerira Astrology is a field of study that involves forecasting earthly and human events through observing and interpreting the fixed stars, the sun, the moon, and the planets. It is an ancient and compelling aspect of people’s lives. Astrology originated with the Babylonians developing their form of horoscopes around 2,400 years ago. Then around 2,100 years ago, astrology spread to the eastern Mediterranean, becoming popular in Egypt. The zodiac, the 12 signs listed in a horoscope, are closely tied to earthly movements through the heavens. The sun sign dictates your zodiac personality and is influenced by your day and month of birth. Many other factors affect your zodiac personality, but your sun sign is like the cover of the book.
Pisces (February 19 - March 20)
Pisces is symbolized by two fish swimming in opposite directions, representing the constant division of Pisces' attention between fantasy and reality. As the final sign in the zodiac calendar, Pisces has absorbed every lesson. Pisces people are known for being sensitive, gracious, and emotionally aware. Pisces characters are regarded for being among the most sympathetic of the zodiac signs.
Aquarius (January 20 February 18)
Despite “aqua” in its name, Aquarius is an air sign. Aquarius is represented by the water bearer, the mystical healer who bestows water or life upon the land. Accordingly, Aquarius is the most humanitarian astrological sign. Aquarians are future-oriented people, often described as visionaries. They are also very intelligent and proudly original.
Capricorn (December 22 January 19)
Capricorn is represented by the sea-goat, a mythological creature with the body of a goat and the tail of a fish. Capricorns are skilled at navigating both the material and emotional realms. They're ambitious, organized, practical, goal-oriented, and they don't mind the hustle.
Sagittarius (November 22 December 21)
Sagittarians are always on a quest for knowledge. The fire sign launches its many pursuits like blazing arrows and chases after geographical, intellectual, and spiritual adventures. Sagittarius natives are loyal, intelligent, assertive, and compassionate personalities.
Scorpio (October 23 November 21)
Scorpio has incredible passion and power. The water sign, often mistaken for a fire sign, derives its strength from the psychic, emotional realm. Scorpios are extremely deep, intense, and emotional people. They're natural leaders and can be very serious.
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Aries (March 21 - April 19)
Aries is spontaneous and courageous. They have a strong sense of adventure and like to explore. They have high energy and initiate quick actions. Aries loves to be number one, so it’s no surprise that these audacious rams are the first sign of the zodiac.
Taurus (April 20 - May 20)
Taurus is an earth sign that is represented by the bull. Like their celestial spirit animal, Taureans enjoy relaxing in serene, bucolic environments surrounded by soft sounds, soothing aromas, and succulent flavors.
Gemini (May 20 - June 21)
Appropriately symbolized by the celestial twins, this air sign was interested in so many pursuits that it had to double itself. Geminis can be flexible, extroverted, and clever, but they can also be indecisive, impulsive, unreliable, and nosy.
Cancer (June 21 - July 22)
Cancer is a cardinal water sign. Represented by the crab, this crustacean seamlessly weaves between the sea and shore representing Cancer’s ability to exist in both emotional and material realms. They place a high value on family and close friends and will go to great lengths to defend them, no matter the price.
Leo (July 23 - August 22)
Known as the more loud and confident sign, these spirited fire signs are the kings and queens of the celestial Sahara. Leo is represented by the lion. They are delighted to embrace their royal status: vivacious, theatrical, and passionate, Leos love to bask in the spotlight and celebrate themselves.
Libra (September 23 October 22)
Libra is an air sign represented by the scales (fun fact: the only inanimate object of the zodiac), an association that reflects Libra's fixation on balance and harmony. Libras are obsessed with symmetry and strive to create equilibrium in all areas of life.
Virgo (August 23 September 22)
Virgo is an earth sign historically represented by the goddess of wheat and agriculture, an association that speaks to Virgo’s deeprooted presence in the material world. Virgos are logical, practical, and systematic in their approach to life. JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 13
Recipe for a screen-free day Malina Wong
With the constant presence of screens, many look to their electronic devices for entertainment to pass the time. Searching for other hobbies or passions may seem challenging or out of people’s comfort zone. Compatible in any setting, explore this recipe full of ingredients for a fun, screen-free day, with hints of revisiting childhood and finding entertainment!
Ingredients:
1
Create a rewards system poster to keep you accountable and focused on goals • • •
3
• •
5
Make a chart of your goals or projects you wish to accomplish Estimate what time you want to complete each goal by Set a prize for when you complete your goal
Window watch •
Count how many red cars you see Notice shapes in the clouds What do the surroundings look like today?
Do a puzzle •
2
Try a 1000 piece puzzle
Steps: Combine the ingredients together in a large, 24-hour day. Top the day off with a favorite hobby for added sweetness, or substitute with taking a nature walk in favor of a more natural option.
4
Play games from your childhood • • • •
Revisit your elementary school and play on the playground • • •
6
Monopoly Checkers Hopscotch Go Fish
Play freeze tag Hang on the monkey bars Climb the ladders
Make lists • • • • •
Places you want to travel Foods you want to try Bucket list Fun gifts Things that bring you joy
Recipe Tips: Following this recipe with friends and family adds additional flavor. Furthermore, use larger measurements in order to achieve a rich and tasteful product.
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ADS PAGE
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 15
Final year as high school athletes sparks reflection Soleil Dam For seniors who have been playing sports all of their lives, this upcoming sports season is bittersweet. However, some studentathletes are continuing their sports careers in college. “I am sad to be leaving Carlmont, especially after all of the great friends and memories I’ve made, but at the same time, I am super excited for next year,” said Gabby Lee, a senior softball player at Carlmont. However, for most seniors, their final year of high school means it’s their last year representing their school through sports. Sports are often a safe place for many athletes to enjoy themselves. Many students’ final year of high school sports has sparked a period of reflection about their sports careers.
Ethan Matsuda - Lacrosse aka
N
so l
G
y ar
l ei
m da
How do you feel about your last year as a high school studentathlete?
Being our last year, I definitely want to make the most of it but, at the same time, it is a little bittersweet because this might be the last time I get to play on the field.
When and how did you start playing lacrosse?
I started playing when I was in eighth grade, but I’ve been playing sports my whole life. At first, I didn’t have any interest in lacrosse, but my friend asked me if I wanted to try it with him, so I gave it a shot.
What has been your favorite part about being a lacrosse player?
I’ve always had a competitive nature. When it came to sports, being able to go out on the field and compete against teams you don’t necessarily like, that’s really my favorite thing.
Are you pursuing lacrosse after high school? I don’t plan on playing lacrosse in college, but if the opportunity arises, I can definitely see myself continuing to play lacrosse in college.
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s
Tanner Van Why - Baseball
m da il le o
How do you feel about your last year as a high school student-athlete?
It’s very exciting, but at the same time, it’s sad to leave a place where I’ve called home for 17 years. I’m ready to move on with the next chapter of my life, and I’m ready to go to college to play my sport.
When and how did you start playing baseball?
y
Gar
I started playing baseball when I was in kindergarten, and I’ve never stopped. It has kept me motivated and driven to be great at everything I do.
Naka
What has been your favorite part about being a baseball player?
I feel like when you’re on a team, you’re a part of a family, and we call each other brothers. The camaraderie on the team is shown on and off the field. I love being able to go to practice every day and seeing the boys and then fighting alongside each other in rivalry games.
Are you pursuing baseball after high school?
I’m on deck. I’m looking forward to playing at the next level because I’ve always wanted to be able to call myself a college baseball player.
Maya Blodgett - Soccer
y
Naka
I’m so excited for this season, and I absolutely can’t wait. I love my team, and I’m really looking forward to it. I just want to make it the best.
Gar
How do you feel about your last year as a high school student-athlete?
soleil d am
When and how did you start playing soccer?
I’ve been playing soccer ever since I can remember. I started playing because my brother was always playing soccer, and I just grew up playing with him in the front yard.
What has been your favorite part about being a soccer player?
My favorite part about playing soccer is the competitiveness and the ability to build such strong team bonds with your soccer friends. You have such a different bond with your teammates than the ones outside of the soccer field.
Are you pursuing soccer after high school?
I plan to attend Cal Lutheran to play soccer, and I’m verbally committed there right now. I’m so excited because it really is my passion. I play soccer five to six times a week, and I’m excited to continue that process.
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 17
Lucy Lopshire
Disparities are apparent in sports funding Lucy Lopshire
When people think of high school sports, the first one that comes to mind is football. It is a common viewpoint that the American sport has become the main recipient of money throughout high schools across the country. Therefore, people perceive an unbalanced distribution of money that leaves other sports overlooked and underfunded. Especially here at Carlmont, students and coaches alike have voiced their concerns about allocating money. Different sports teams have various needs and desires depending on the resources available to them. With most students not knowing how
this system works, there is a widespread misconception that football receives most of the funding at Carlmont. When breaking down how money is spent, it can often reflect that idea. According to Patrick Smith, the athletic director at Carlmont, a portion of the district budget goes towards reconditioning football equipment each year. “We get $60,000, usually about $45,000 goes to transportation. The rest of that money is used on equipment, but usually, that is eaten up by reconditioning of football equipment. All football helmets and shoulder pads have to be reconditioned every year; that’s a state law.” Smith said. Smith works closely with coaches and the Booster Club to get teams the
funding they need. The Booster Club is a parent-run organization that works to generate funds for Carlmont through events such as fundraisers. The club is heavily involved in athletics and provides most of the money used for the sports program. The process for funding at Carlmont starts when coaches ask Smith for specific needs, which he then compares with the budget and communicates to the Booster Club. Within this process, he works alongside Joe Kupbens, who has been the Booster Board president for two years. Kupbens deals with fundraising, allocating funds, and more. “The way it works is the coaches come to Pat and say, ‘this is what I need this year.’ Then we just discuss
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what’s really needed; we rarely say no to anyone. It’s really what the coach is saying that we need any given year,” Kupbens said. The club gets differing amounts of money per year, with a goal of $60,000 for fundraising. The amount of money given to each team changes annually, seen in the most recent budget with the golf team. “We approve a budget to how much money we’ll give them each year to get things they need. So like, last year, we bought bags for the golf team. And then they’ll use those bags for 10 years or however long they last, and then we’ll find bags again. And then we buy uniforms on different rotations.” Both Smith and Kupbens are aware of the rumors surrounding funding and deal with complaints annually. “I will say, for our booster board, for the amount of money that we spend,
if you look at our budget, per student, we try to keep it fairly even,” Kupbens said. “It will look a little lopsided here and there, but we’re very cognizant of the fact that everyone thinks that all the money goes to the football team. That is not the case.” Smith had similar sentiments to Kupbens, saying, “I think the big thing is to ask people in the know and not get information based on rumor and innuendo. I think that’s where a lot of these things come from. I’m pretty easy to get a hold of and very easy to talk to, and I’m happy to discuss that with just about anybody.” Stressing the idea of high school sports on a budget, Smith also remarked, “the second thing is to understand that everything in public high school is based on a budget. We can’t just create things out of thin air. It would be great if we could. And then the
third thing is to understand how much things cost.” On a larger scale, a lot of funding towards sports here at Carlmont comes from donations. Whether to the Booster Club or directly to a team, Carlmont relies on families to assist with funding. Kupbens put a significant emphasis on the importance of parents’ involvement with donations, as they play a significant role in getting student-athletes what they need. She encourages parents to get involved with the Booster Club and donate to the school to help support the athletic program. “We can’t have a booster board that functions and pays for stuff without the parent’s involvement and without the parents giving money. If we could get every single parent to become a member, we could fund everything without having any other fundraisers,” Kupbens said.
Gary Nakayama Gary Naka yama
Lucy Lopshire
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 19
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FREE LUNCH STILL HAS ITS COSTS Anita Beroza Free lunch and breakfast have been offered to Carlmont students for months. While this food program provides many students with easy access to meals they might otherwise struggle to find, not every student can eat the food available. The food offered is quite healthy, meeting United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Nutrition Standards for school lunches. Each dish averages only about 333 Calories, seven grams of sugar, and 17 grams of protein per entrée item. However, students with certain dietary restrictions can’t eat the food served at Carlmont. For instance, some Jewish students keep kosher, meaning they avoid eating foods not permitted by the Torah. Eden Feuchtwang, a Jewish senior, is one such student. “I try to be as religious as possible, just to keep up the tradition, and so that I have some connection to my community. I kind of like how it kind of places limits,” Feuchtwang said. “Depending on how religious you are, you can consider certain things as not kosher and certain things as kosher.” While the personal reasons and exact rules Jewish students may follow differ, many who eat kosher can encounter difficulties. “I’ve had the deli sandwich, and I’ll realize that it’s ham instead of turkey. Then I’ll be like, well, I can’t eat that.” Feuchtwang said. Some Muslim students may face similar difficulties. According to the Halal Foundation, halal (lawful or permitted) indicates which activities Muslim people are allowed to take part in, much like kosher for the Jewish.
Anita Beroza
Regarding foods, halal has similar but different requirements to kosher, including not eating certain kinds of meat, like pork. Meat that can be eaten, like chicken, needs to be killed in a specific manner, with requirements like the animal must be killed via a single cut to the jugular vein and carotid artery. No information on the Sequoia Union High School District (SUHSD) nutrition site indicates whether or not certain meal items, if any, are halal. However, Many, like Feuchtwang, have been able to find solutions. “There’s usually an alternative [entrée item],” Feuchtwang said. However, not every student can do the same for other dietary restrictions. The SUHSD menu lists none of the breakfast options as gluten-free, and only the cereal is dairy-free. Students with celiac disease, for example, cannot eat any of the entrée items Carlmont provides since all have wheat. Students who are vegetarian or vegan also have limited options. Cereal and the veggie pita pocket are the only vegan items (just one for breakfast and lunch, respectively), and the vegetarian options are not much more numerous. “USDA’s school meal programs have a wide-reaching impact on the health and well-being of our nation’s children,” said Tom Vilsack, Secretary of USDA. “Now, more than ever, America’s children need access to healthy and nutritious foods.” According to the Food Research and Action Center, school meals have undeniable benefits for students— including lower risks for obesity and negative health impacts. Let’s make them available to everyone.
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 21
Scots through
Mr. Chun
and through The Carlmont graduates who came back to teach Sophia Mattioli After a highly anticipated departure, most people do not plan to return to their high school following graduation. In Conner Fenech’s experience, coming back to Carlmont was never his objective. “I initially wanted to be a lawyer, and I always thought, maybe when I got older, and I was done with law, I’d be a teacher. I never really thought that I’d come back to Carlmont, but as things progressed, I still knew a bunch of the teachers here and started talking with them. When I figured out I wanted to be a teacher, I decided I’ll come back to do my student teaching here,” Fenech said. Having graduated from Oregon State, Fenech dove into law and became a junior paralegal. He then ended up in the field of early childhood development and quickly realized his love for teaching. Fenech is now a History teacher at Carlmont; having that first-hand student experience gave him one leg up. “I don’t think there was anything that I was wary of; I think it was really all just excitement getting to come back. As I said, I still knew and kept in contact with a lot of the teachers here, so I was excited to get to see them and to get to learn from them,” Fenech said. Overall, Fenech has enjoyed the experience of revisiting the past, “It’s exciting, just being back on campus. I don’t think there was any part of me
that was either nervous, scared, or kind of hesitant about coming back,” Fenech said. Not only did his return to Carlmont help with his teaching experience, but it also made Fenech realize how much he missed the environment. “Maybe a part of the reason why I did want to come back here, in the end, was that it kind of made it feel like home,” Fenech said. Like Fenech, Ryan Chun, a Carlmont math teacher, didn’t always intend to become a teacher, but it was on his mind. “I went to San Jose State University to study international business. I switched my major to Math because I wanted to learn more technical skills, and I always thought about teaching,” Chun said. After graduating from San Jose State, Chun went back to school and got his teaching credential at Notre Dame De Namur. There was a benefit to returning to the high school he attended, but for Chun, it wasn’t all fun and games. “I do think there is an advantage if you have already built some rapport with your old teachers and if you are willing to learn, fail, and improve. But, there can be higher expectations of you because they have seen how you work before,” Chun said. The life of a teacher takes a lot more than most realize; in his experience, Chun didn’t expect all of the communication and allocation a job in education requires.
“I did not anticipate how much work goes into this job outside of the class. We have to prepare for class, communicate to parents, peers, students, and admin, in addition to grading papers,” Chun said. For history teacher Lindsey Moynihan, attending Carlmont was a significant factor in her pursuit of history. “I have always enjoyed history, even in high school. A lot of my history teachers from high school still work here, Mr. Braunstein. Mr. Waller, Mr. Harrison; I had each of them at some point over the course of my high school career, as well as many other teachers who still work here. I always had a lot of fun in their classes, so that influenced me to continue taking history courses in college,” Moynihan said. After obtaining her undergraduate degree from UCSB, she knew she wanted to pursue a master’s degree but didn’t know what she wanted to study. In the end, Moynihan had it all figured out after attending a master’s education program and student teaching for a while. “From my student teaching experience, I realized that I liked working with kids and teachers. I ended up continuing with that; midway through the year, I understood that I didn’t really want to look for anything else. I really like teaching,” Moynihan said. Once she decided education was for her, Moynihan quickly began her career,
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Mr. Fenech
“I started to reach out to teachers at Carlmont and ask them to let me know if there were any openings in the district or the department. Eventually, I came back and started subbing in the district; most of it took place at Carlmont,” she said. Similar to Fenech and Chun, having teacher connections helped Moynihan reenter the Carlmont community, “It definitely helps to know the school culture and climate, and to know people who are either department chairs or within the department to give you a little bit of a leg up on the competition. From what I’ve noticed, it seems that if you have an in, that typically helps you more, rather than if you’re blindly applying to schools that you’ve never heard of,” she said. Overall, coming back to Carlmont, for most teachers, felt like coming home, “It was a very easy transition for me since I grew up here. It felt like returning home; it was welcoming; it’s always been welcoming. I always feel like I fit right in, so it wasn’t weird, and it wasn’t awkward,” Moynihan said.
Ms. Moynihan
art
by
Sophia Mattioli
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 23
Compostable plastics aren’t so eco-friendly Robin Linares As people are becoming more environmentally conscious and searching for alternatives to traditional plastics, a seemingly perfect solution was created: compostable plastics. But are these eco-friendly options too good to be true? According to the Environmental Protection Agency, compostable plastics are polymers that can break down into compost in industrial treatment facilities with the help of microorganisms, heat, and humidity. Also, according to World Centric, a manufacturer of compostable plastics and containers, these types of plastics are made from materials like corn, potato, tapioca, and other natural ingredients. This composition allows these plastics to break down into nontoxic compost material in less than six months. By comparison, traditional plastics, such as plastic bottles, can take up to 1000 years to decompose, according to Healthy Human Life. Additionally, according to Shaila Mehta, secretary for Carlmont’s Green Team, traditional plastic production causes severe environmental harm.
Robin Linares
“Traditional plastic is made out of oil, so it tends to create a lot of pollution,” Mehta said. While compostable plastics seem to be a better alternative to traditional plastics, they are not perfect. Compostable plastics need a certain kind of machinery to break down, but many areas don’t have that type of infrastructure. There is the infrastructure to break down soft compostable plastic bags in our waste service area, which covers much of San Mateo County. Still, they can’t break down harder forms of compostable plastic, like utensils or coffee lids. Julia Au, the Senior Outreach, Education, and Compliance Manager at Rethink Waste, explained what happens when people put these types of plastics into the compost. “They will probably be [put in the] landfill,” Au said. “Blossom Valley Organics North [one of two organic facilities that San Mateo County sends its organic waste to], has explicitly told us in their agreement with us that biodegradable plastic food service ware is a contaminate in their system and cannot break down at their facility.” Furthermore, there are specific guidelines for plastic labeling, which confuses many consumers. According to the Sustainable Packaging Coalition, while compostable plastics, biodegradable plastics, and bioplastics sound similar in theory, only plastics labeled compostable can be put in the compost bin. Both biodegradable products and bioplastics can’t be composted since the former takes too long to decompose, and the latter isn’t required to biodegrade. Au explains how this confusion can allow consumers to mistakenly put their biodegradable bins in compost, which comes with unexpected consequences. “We do a lot of wish-cycling where people will sort it, or it’ll get sorted out, and I like to remind folks, our recycling facility is 80% machine, and 20% human being, but machines and people are flawed, so we can’t sort everything out,”
Robin Linares
Au said. “If you don’t know the full breakdown [of these plastics], and they are treated in an industrial facility, it might end up back in your soil.” As an alternative to compostable plastic products, there are disposable products made out of paper fibers. The Sequoia Union High School District is implementing these eco-friendly containers into school lunchrooms as suggested by Director of Food Services Sandra Jonaidi. “We’re [starting] a program where we buy compostable paper [foodware] that’s reheatable and has a recyclable plastic sealed plastic lid,” Jonaidi said. “The containers that we will be moving to are 100% compostable.” The company that the district is ordering from, Oliver Quality, has food trays made from sugarcane and bamboo fibers rather than compostable plastics. The district’s switch to fiber-based compostable products coincides with a new ordinance in San Mateo County, requiring disposable food ware to be reusable or made out of fiber-based compostable materials. The City of Belmont will fully implement and enforce the ordinance by March 25, 2022.
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Au noted how fiber-based products are more beneficial to the environment, as it causes less confusion than compostable plastics. “We’re moving towards something that you know people might not question as much because it isn’t plastic-based; it is fiberbased,” Au said. “And we will accept those [fiber-based containers] in our compost system.” While there is always a push to have more environmentally conscious alternatives, Au noted that it is often worth doing an extra bit of research to see which bin your disposable goods can go in. According to Au, “We have a lot of great resources. Recology has a website called whatbin.com to look up what goes in what bin. I think if we all spent an extra 30 seconds to a minute to just go on the website and look up what goes where it would save us a lot of headaches,” Au said. “This is something that we can all do; compost, but also compost correctly.”
Andrew
Shu
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 25
Students take mental health days Elise Hsu Ana Hoffman Sole planned to wake up early so she could finish some homework from the night before. But as soon as the day started, she sensed that something was off. “I could feel something was different than usual,” said Hoffman Sole, a senior. Hoffman Sole knew she wasn’t sick; she just needed a break. She decided to take a mental health day off from school, having her mother tell the attendance office that she would be absent. According to Healthline, mental health issues that go unchecked can result in physical symptoms, including headaches and sleepiness. To avoid this outcome, students take days off from school to focus on recovering from excessive stress. Although the parameters of a mental health day can be different for everyone, people often perceive it as a sick day for the mind. “If you’re physically sick, you would stay home and recover and get better, and it’s the same for mental health,” said Maria Valle-Remond, a senior. Valle-Remond has taken multiple mental health days off from school in the past. She recently utilized a professional development day, which students already had off, to focus on herself. “I didn’t do any homework and physically recovered,” ValleRemond said. “The next day, I came to school feeling super good... That one day was a break from everything.” Although there are usually other factors involved, students often cite academic stress as the main reason to take a mental health day. “School on its own can already be exhausting,” Hoffman Sole said. “There are high demands, especially for those who are being held to high expectations by themselves or others.” Those high expectations can cause students to crack under pressure, resulting in a decreased capacity to participate as they usually would. “The entire purpose of being here [at school] is to learn, right? It’s hard to do that when you’re completely drained,” said Sierra De la Cruz, a junior. Even though there are plenty of reasons a student could need to take a mental health day, there are just as many obstacles, including parental pressure, that could stand in the way. “Even if a student’s teachers were understanding, their parents might not be, and they feel like they have to get through the day and make it work,” Valle-Remond said. Carlmont Mental Health Specialist and Students Offering Support (SOS) Coordinator Shelley Bustamante commented that the value parents place on education could make it difficult for students to request a day off. “They’re minors, and adults often scrutinize every absence,” Bustamante said.
De la Cruz mentioned that she often feels hesitant to take mental health days due to the difficulty of justifying her need to be absent from school. “Either you say you’re sick and then the school thinks you have COVID-19 and it becomes a really big thing, or you say you have period cramps, and you can’t do that all the time,” De la Cruz said. “You have to make a bunch of excuses.” Section 48205 of Article 1 of the California Education Code states that an absence “for the benefit of the pupil’s mental or behavioral health” is considered an excused absence. The code was amended to include this in October 2021, when Senate Bill 14 was passed and chartered. Valle-Remond hadn’t previously heard of this change but thought it could improve communication between students and teachers. “If they [teachers] knew that you missed school because you had a mental health day, the absence would be viewed in a less stressful way,’ Valle-Remond said. When asked if she would take another mental health day, Hoffman Sole was quick to indicate she would. “If I hit a wall again tomorrow, I won’t go to school,” Hoffman Sole said.
Andrew Shu
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PAIN PUSHING THROUGH
Juliette Jaques
photographed by
Elle Horst
Article
by
Elle Horst
Design by Chesney Evert
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 27
J
uliette Jaques watched her TV in awe. A rerun of the 1996 Olympics was playing on the screen. An aspiring gymnast herself, she looked in awe at the beautiful floor routines, nail-biting beam skills, and high-flying bar releases. And then came the vault, the moment she had been waiting for. She watched Dominique Moceanu sprint across the runway and push herself off the vaulting horse into the air. But instead of a perfect landing, she came crashing on the mat. After her second vault ended in another fall, the lively American crowd gasped. The gold medal that seemed so sure a few moments ago seemed to fade away. Then came Kerri Strug. After falling on her first vault, it was clear Strug was severely hurt. She limped back down the runway, barely able to put weight on her ankle. Jaques leaned forward in her seat as she watched Strug glance at her coach Bella Karolyi, who nodded at her. “Shake it off; you can do it,” Karolyi said. Strug took a deep breath, steadied herself, took off down the runway, and delivered a spectacular vault that landed on one foot to clinch the gold medal for the United States. With that feat, Strug solidified herself as one of America’s Olympic heroes. Worshipped for her bravery and toughness, she became an inspiration to many little girls across the country, including Jaques. “She was one of my childhood heroes,” Jaques said. “But upon reflection, the memory, like many of the ones associated with watching the Olympics as a child, is tainted. It hurts to know what those girls were going
through.” Jaques has been involved in gymnastics since she was a young girl and holds a fierce love for the sport. She worked her way up to becoming a level 10 gymnast and quickly developed a reputation for her hard work, supportive attitude, and toughness. “Juliette is definitely the teammate who works the hardest and endures the most,” said Skye Evans, a teammate of Jaques. “Her integrity is just incredible, and she never quits, even when you can tell she’s in pain.” But Jaques’ admirable qualities led her to work past the boundaries of safe and healthy athletic performance, sending her on an arduous road of surgery and long-lasting discomfort. “Most of my injuries have started as overuse injuries, like stress edemas, stress fractures, and tears that developed into bigger issues due to my lack of acknowledging and resting when I felt pain,” Jaques said. Jaques felt it every time she put weight on it — a stabbing pain in her arm. At first, it was tolerable; she could still perform her routines without difficulty. It’s fine, she thought. I don’t need to tell my coaches. It’s better to say nothing and tough it out. However, it soon grew worse. She could barely push on it without wincing in pain. Rolls and rolls of tape were used for braces that did little to provide relief. Despite this, she still kept going, spending roughly 20 hours in the gym
each week. This refusal to acknowledge injury resulted in a host of setbacks and surgeries—and it was becoming a pattern. “I have done this time and time again, ignoring the pain and just hoping it goes away tomorrow, or telling myself ‘it’s not that bad, it’s just sore,’” Jaques said. “Almost every time I have ignored a serious pain, it has developed into a much bigger injury.”
A WIDESPREAD ISSUE
Jaques is not alone in her desire to continue to train through injuries. Over the years, she has watched numerous other gymnasts struggle silently with pain, often resulting in worse injuries slower recoveries. In her mind, a lot of this has to do with fear. “The main reason a lot of gymnasts don’t tell their coaches about what hurts is fear. Whether that be fear that they won’t believe what they say, that they will think of them differently, or view them as less than others, it might even be the fear that coaches will tell them to stop because that is also something gymnasts hate hearing.” This is common in other sports as well. Andrew Ghazhouli is a runner for Carlmont’s varsity cross country and track teams. Though he has completed numerous successful athletic seasons, Ghazhouli suffers from shin splints and underwent surgery for his
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Gary Nakayama
femoroacetabular impingement (FAI), a condition that likely stems from acquired overuse where an extra bone grows along one or both of the bones that form the hip joint, causing painful friction. Despite the incredible pain from the injury, Ghazouli continued to run. “I remember when Andrew’s hip was really bothering him,” said Jack Peacock, a fellow runner and teammate of Ghazouli’s. “He still kept running. Once, he ran 16 miles with that injury.” After having surgery, Ghazouli has recognized the importance of resting or limiting his workouts when injured. However, he feels many athletes make the mistake of continuing through injuries. “I think all athletes who get injured want to push through it at first. It took me a while to learn that it was ok to take breaks,” Ghazouli said. These mentalities are not unique. Pushing through pain is a normalized part of almost every sport. Many athletes will let their pain take the back seat due to the desire to compete and the deep institutionalized belief that ignoring injuries demonstrates a quality of toughness celebrated in athletics. “Dealing with pain is definitely a large part of the culture of sports,” said Alyssa Herrera-Set, a physical therapist and founder of On the Move Physical
Therapy and Pilates. “There are a lot of interesting sayings that convince people to do so, like ‘no pain no gain,’ or ‘pain is weakness leaving your body.’ That is something that’s kind of beautiful… pushing through a little bit of pain, either mental or physical. But there needs to be a balance.”
TIPPING THE BALANCE For many athletes, this balance is challenging to find. What at first may seem like a minor annoyance can quickly turn into problems that severely impact performance and lead to more severe injuries. Admitting that conditions are worsening and taking a step back can be extremely difficult. “I definitely notice teammates pushing through injuries,” said Billy Picht, a Carlmont swimmer committed to the UCSB swim team. “The expectation is that you’re at practice every day, and the fact that injuries take you away from the pool makes ignoring them way too common. It’s super easy to avoid any change and keep swimming like nothing’s wrong, but the more you keep going, the worse your injury gets.” Being a high-level athlete, Picht is surrounded by athletes with dreams of competing at the collegiate level. These dreams and the desire to compete have caused some of his teammates to push through injuries to unhealthy levels. “A friend of mine who graduated last year had a shoulder injury when she was
young, and she tried to swim through it,” Picht said. “She ended up needing surgery, and even after that, her shoulder was still bothering her years later.” In the past, Picht struggled with chronic shoulder pain due to overuse while swimming. After going to the doctor, he discovered he was suffering from inflamed ligaments. “I noticed that my shoulder started to hurt for each stroke I took,” Picht said. “It kept getting worse, so after a couple of days, I went to an orthopedic doctor, and he said that the ligaments in my shoulder had gotten inflamed.” Picht realized he needed to stop the injury’s progression before it was too late and took steps to prevent his condition from worsening.
“THAT IS SOMETHING THAT IS KIND OF BEAUTIFUL... PUSHING THROUGH A LITTLE BIT OF PAIN, EITHER MENTAL OR PHYSICAL. BUT THERE NEEDS TO BE A BALANCE” ALYSSA HERRERA-SET JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 29
He communicated the issue with his coaches and came COMMUNICATION IS KEY up with a plan to heal and come back stronger. A change in culture — for gymnastics and many other sports “The first thing I did was stop swimming. I went — must occur. In too many cases, a disconnect between coaches, to practice, but I kicked the workout instead of fully parents, and athletes can foster an immense amount of pressure swimming,” Picht said. to perform and a lack of desire to communicate. Picht has no regrets about his decision and believes it to “Pressure is a huge factor that drives athletes to push be the best choice for athlete health and safety. However, he through the pain to the point where it becomes detrimental to realizes that the choice he made can be incredibly difficult performance, ” said Herrera-Set. “Athletes can face all kinds of for others. pressure — pressure to please their coaches, teammates, and “I felt comfortable communicating to my coach about parents, and in addition, the pressure they put on themselves it, but I was definitely lucky,” Picht said. “There were no to achieve athletic goals like playing pro, getting onto a college big meets coming up, so there was less pressure to come to team, or even just keeping up with their friends.” practice every day, and my coach and I know each other To Herrera-Set, creating a healthy environment with good very well, which made it much easier to talk to him. Not relationships is the best way to every athlete has that combat these pressures. circumstance.” “If I could change anything For some athletes, about the culture of sports, it would their sport can foster a be to improve communication culture of competition, between all people that are fear, and intimidation supporting the athlete,” Herrerathat prevents them from Set said. “All sports should push a speaking out about their culture of open communication and pain. Kaitlyn Fong, support between all parties invested a former gymnast, in the athlete.” dealt with this kind of A desire for helping prevent environment and saw injuries and foster positive firsthand the negative environments for athletes led her consequences that to co-found GymSAFE, a nonprofit followed. dedicated to providing athletes “I did not feel like and coaches with tools to combat I could communicate injuries and promote mental and with my coach about physical care in the sport. any pain. I was afraid, so “I would see recurring patterns pushing through it was and injuries in athletes, and I the general practice.” wanted to address those patterns Fong said. “My coaches before they became injuries,” invalidated [my Herrera-Set said. “And I wanted a team’s] feelings, strictly way for the nonprofit to get into regulated our outward KAITLYN FONG the gyms and see the gymnasts emotions, and utilized before they were injured and punishment to cultivate coming to the clinic. I founded it an anxious and fearful atmosphere. It was easier to push with a gymnastics coach. I felt that between a coach, medical through rather than deal with the anxiety and emotional professional, athletes, and parents, we could help reduce injuries drain that came with trying to communicate.” in gymnastics. ” This kind of toxic coaching style is common across many Coaches are, for many athletes, the most influential figure in sports. Recently, USA Gymnastics has come under fire for their athletic creating an environment that encouraged its elite athletes careers. This was to silently endure horrific mistreatment at the hands of a significant factor officials. that led Herrera-Set “Gymnastics, in general, is a dangerous and difficult to found GymSAFE with sport with an authoritarian culture that normalizes the help of one. mistreatment, and the need for change is obvious,” Elle Horst “As a physical therapist, I recognize Jaques said. “This summer, I watched the four worldthat as much as I tell an athlete class American gymnasts courageously testify before the to do something, they are more likely to Senate about all that they endured at the hands of USA listen to a coach or try to act in a way they believe will make Gymnastics. It made me sad and bitterly angry seeing what them satisfied,” Herrera-Set said. “It’s why a good coach-athlete it took for the community at large to recognize the need for relationship and communication is important.” change.”
“MY COACHES INVALIDATED [MY TEAM’S] FEELINGS , STRICTLY REGULATED OUR OUTWARD EMOTIONS, AND UTILIZED PUNISHMENT TO CULTIVATE AN ANXIOUS AND FEARFUL ATMOSPHERE”
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For coaches, it can be difficult to figure out the best communication approach for each athlete. Ashley Hansen, a gymnastics coach at a local gym, has found that a personalized method tends to be most effective. “In my experience, communication is different with each athlete and coach,” Hansen said. “Most of my gymnasts are comfortable talking to my coaching partner and me about injuries or fears they have because we have known and coached them for so long. We try to have conversations about what we have observed and encourage them to open up to us so we can find a solution.” Jaques is currently coached by Hansen, and she feels that her approach has been beneficial to her performance. Under the guidance of Hansen and Matt Hodges, Hansens’ coworker and owner of Accel Gymnastics, Jaques feels that they have created a positive space for her to train and voice potential concerns. “As of now, I truly feel like I can communicate with my coaches about injuries,” Jaques said. “I wish I could have felt the same as a young gymnast.” Though Jaques feels her situation in her sport is now safe and healthy, she recognizes that there is vast room for improvement in gymnastics and all athletics in general and thinks that more effort must be invested in ridding sports of its toxic hush culture that leads so many athletes on the path of injury and pain.
“I have seen first-hand changes and attempts at change in the culture, and I believe we are definitely going in the right direction,” Jaques said. “That being said, I do not believe it is enough, and it won’t be until every single facility is a safe and honest environment.”
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 31
DANGEROUS EFFECTS OF X-RAYS Leanna Gower Every year, seven out of ten Americans get an X-ray done, according to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). They’re an easy way for doctors to see what’s wrong without any invasive surgeries or procedures. However, how many of those Americans know all of the risks? Many don’t bat an eye when met with a request for an X-ray because it has become standard practice. X-rays are useful for many things, such as monitoring ongoing conditions or diseases like scoliosis, arthritis, and osteoporosis or figuring out why someone might be feeling pain. “X-rays might be a bit of a crutch for doctors to use in order to diagnose a patient, but I also don’t know of any better alternatives that would replace the practice,” said Nolan Scheetz, a senior at Carlmont who has had so many X-rays, that he’s lost count. As people have accepted X-ray imaging technology into their lives, the FDA has recognized that sometimes people get X-rays taken that aren’t medically needed. Though they can be great tools for maintaining good health, overexposure to radiation can negatively affect your health and even increase your risk of getting cancer later in life. “They’ve offered X-rays before, and my mom has been like, ‘Can we do this any other way?’ Just because I’ve already had so many,” said Meg Cotton, a senior at Carlmont who’s
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received at least 10 X-rays so far. Typically, the risk depends on the radiation dosage, which is measured in sievert (Sv) and millisievert (mSv) units. Both units are commonly used to compare different radiation imaging procedures, accounting for the biological effect of radiation, varying from type of radiation and vulnerability of the body. The amount of radiation used in X-ray examinations is small, so the odds of exams causing health problems are minimal. However, Computed Tomography scans (CT scans) utilize a much larger dosage of radiation. The scans can see inside the body and are often used to see into the brain, or detect muscle or joint issues, thus requiring more radiation for the bigger task. A study conducted in 2009 at
Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston found the risk of cancer from CT scans in 31,462 patients was estimated to be 0.7% more than the rest of the United States, though, for patients with multiple CT scans, the risk increased ranging from 2.7%- 12% higher. “I might have a higher risk of getting cancer given how many scans and X-rays I’ve received; in fact, I would assume I do,” Scheetz said. “I can’t say that such a risk has been explicitly brought up to me, but that may have to do with my wish to not really know the possible side effects.” The fear of not knowing what underlying medical issues might be ailing you is just as daunting as the risks of X-rays. Like many medications and health practices, the positives of X-rays
and CT scans can come with risks. “If there is something wrong, usually with a bone, they do make sure I have an X-ray done because there’s no other good way to really tell if something is wrong,” Cotton said. While the risk is slight, the FDA urges Americans to avoid unnecessary risks: always ask your doctor what the X-ray is for and get an X-ray if there’s a serious problem. You’re better off taking the small risks involved in an X-ray than having an undiagnosed condition. “I’ve had a lot of X-rays taken, and probably only half of them actually found anything that was important,” Scheetz said. “At the same time, having the reassurance that there was nothing noticeably broken was very helpful.”
APPROXIMATE EFFECTIVE RADIATION DOSES OF IMAGING PROCEDURES Procedure
Average Effective Dose
X-ray, arm or leg X-ray, panoramic dental
0.001 mSv 0.01 mSv
X-ray, chest
0.1 mSv
X-ray, abdominal
0.7 mSv
X-ray, lumbar spine
1.5 mSv
CT, head
2.0 mSv
CT, spine
6.0 mSv
CT, pelvis
6.0 mSv
CT, chest
7.0 mSv
CT, abdomen
8.0 mSv
CT, colonoscopy
10.0 mSv
CT, angiogram
16.0 mSv
RECEIVE AN X-RAY EVERY YEAR
Mettler FA, et al. “Effective Doses in Radiology and Diagnostic Nuclear Medicine: A Catalog,” Radiology (July 2008), Vol. 248, pp. 254–63.
Infographics
by
Leanna Gower
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 33
Enough?
Writing
and art by
Oliver Fichte
Thousands of teenagers line up at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) annually to get their driver’s licenses. With the education they had received in the months prior, are they prepared for the dangerous roads that lie ahead? According to Rhino Car Hire’s Drive Smart page, American teenagers get their licenses earlier than 90% of teenagers in other countries. With so many new and young drivers on the road, the competence of driver’s education has come under question. According to the DMV, teenagers must take 25 hours of classroom instruction or home study or Internet training program, six hours of behindthe-wheel training, and 50 hours of supervised driving practice.
Despite all this, “traffic safety researchers concede that driver education and training, even when well designed and rigorous, have not been shown to reliably reduce the crash rates of young drivers,” according to a DMV study. In addition, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s transportation safety page, people aged 16-19 are still at the highest risk for accidents. This raises the concern that a lack of proper driver’s education is directly causing this trend with teen drivers. Ken Wang, a licensed driving instructor, operator, and the owner of Bay Cities Driving School, thinks that online driver’s education doesn’t live up to the standard of its in-person counterpart. Nonetheless, according to Wang, it gets the job done; it prepares students enough to take the permit test
and pass it. However, it’s a different story when students get behind the wheel. “It varies by the individual. Most of them have retained something,” Wang said. “Not all of them have retained everything, that’s for sure.” While driving with students, Wang and his fellow instructors often quiz them about their knowledge, to mixed results. While memorizing facts and rules can get students past the DMV’s permit test, it doesn’t teach them about physically handling a vehicle and avoiding accidents. “I think the more important thing for collision and crash prevention is the behind-the-wheel training, which you get after you do the written part,” Wang said. But even though behind-the-wheel training is more effective for preventing accidents, the DMV only requires it for new drivers under 18; those learning to drive at 18 or older are exempt, and it shows.
34 HIGHLANDER FEATURES
“The accident rates are much higher for those who didn’t take behind-thewheel training,” Wang said. “Those kids are less likely to pass [the license test] the first time, and they’re more likely to get in an accident if they do pass.” Wang wishes that the government would make behind-the-wheel training mandatory for all new drivers to go the extra mile for traffic safety. Regardless, some teenage drivers still find that these classes are more trouble than they’re worth. Valentina Espinosa, a senior at Carlmont, felt that her online driver’s education class had provided a sufficient foundation but struggled to remember and apply its content to real life. “Once I got into the car, I either didn’t remember or the [content was] not very applicable in actual situations,” Espinosa said. Road markings were a challenging aspect of driver’s education that Espinosa wished she would have learned about more clearly. “I didn’t know the difference between
a double yellow line and a white line and when you’re supposed to turn on red,” Espinosa said. “I would be sitting in my car with my dad, and my dad would be like: ‘How did you not learn that in driver’s ed?’” Although driver’s education was tedious, difficult to remember, and not as applicable to everyday situations as Espinosa would have liked, it was still a good base. But like Wang, she found behind-the-wheel training to be far more helpful. Maya Nayberg, a Carlmont junior, recalls many vital aspects of her driver’s education course. She also recognizes the sheer amount of unnecessary statistics thrown in her face during the class, none of which have stuck with her. “You can’t utilize the statistics when you’re driving every day,” Nayberg said. Even though the information in her class was necessary, the format failed to prioritize practical, real-life knowledge. “My driver’s ed was weird,” Nayberg said. “It was a lot of information, but there were only a few chapters that I learned from and was able to apply that knowledge to when [I was driving] on
the road.” In addition to this, she wishes that she had received more training with the controls of her car. “There’s often been a lot of instances where I knew what to do; I just didn’t know how to do it with my car,” Nayberg said. Nayberg, like Espinosa and Wang, also emphasized the greater importance of behind-the-wheel training compared to the online course. “With the online driving [course], you’re just given a lot of information that you can’t apply yet because you haven’t been behind the wheel on the road,” Nayberg said. It seems that practice is key in the world of driver’s education. Especially at this age, all young drivers need to take safety and their education seriously to make the road accessible and safe for all. “You can know all the rules, but if you can’t control the car, that’s a whole different story,” Wang said.
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 35
Health is wealth Healthy lifestyles are inhibited by high produce prices Nyah Simpson According to research from the Harvard School of Public Health, the difference in cost between an unhealthy diet and a healthy one is $1.50 a day. That may not seem like a lot, but that adds up to $547.5 a year and $42,157.50 over a lifetime. Many people strive to live a healthy lifestyle, which may prove difficult for many in the Bay Area since living costs are high. The World Health Organization says that having a healthy diet protects you against chronic diseases, such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. However, what is considered a healthy diet varies based on what someone’s body needs and what is best for them. “That’s why those healthy diets that you see online usually don’t work for everyone. Because everyone needs something different,” Nicole Borshchenko, a junior, said. Like many other people her age, Borshchenko wants to live a sustainable and good lifestyle for her health. “I don’t exactly know why living a healthy lifestyle costs more, but I understand why less healthy foods cost less because they are mass-produced and producers don’t really care what they’re putting in the food,” Borshchenko said. One of the main reasons natural foods are considered more healthy is because they require more labor to produce. One example of this would be fresh fruits and vegetables. These foods need to be grown, harvested, and transported by manual labor as quickly as possible. The produce we see in the stores arrives in the best and freshest
condition. The higher cost is also because the farmers who grow the food need to profit from what they sell. Farmers must add more chemicals to keep the food from expiring during the journey in places where fresh produce needs to be transported long distances. So the crop will generally arrive at stores less fresh, making them less desirable. According to a study done in 2017 by the US National Library of Medicine and the National Institution of Public Health, the cost of healthy food in neighborhoods in large cities costs about $2.00 more than in more rural communities. Each neighborhood’s available income plays a role in how much processed food is purchased. In lowincome areas, people are more likely to buy cheaper processed foods than expensive fresh foods, especially since processed foods are generally more readily available. “The idea that if you can’t afford organic foods, does that mean that you are less healthy? And the answer is no. The nutritional content is the same,” said Matt Arnone, a dietitian based out of Redwood City. Arnone thinks that the idea of preservatives being harmful and that the only way to be healthy is by eating organic foods is a wrong assumption prevalent on social media. Social media glorifies
healthy lifestyles that seem so simple that everyone could have them. In reality, the lifestyle they see is not something they could realistically afford. “I think a lot of people really have the sense that you have to shop at certain places in order to be healthy. But you can find nutritious foods at any grocery store,” Arnone said. It is not bad for people to want to live a healthy lifestyle that costs more, just as it is not bad for people to live a lifestyle that saves money. What matters is what makes them happy and, most importantly, healthy. “I think a healthy diet consists of what is balanced and right for the individual person, and each person requires different foods to keep them healthy,” Borshchenko said.
36 HIGHLANDER FEATURES
Ny
ah
Simpson
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 37
38 HIGHLANDER FEATURES
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2019-03-04 20:44:45 +0000
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 39
2019-03
Art
by
Rebecca Von Tersch
and
Jack Hansen
Ransomware attacks are a growing threat to educational institutions Jack Hansen
of the affected organizations paid the ransom in 2021, a 6% increase from 2020. Additionally, the average cost of ransomware attacks has It’s the day before school starts, and you’re an administrator more than doubled between 2020 and 2021. The price included about to send students their schedules. There’s one massive the ransom itself and the downtime of the service, people’s problem: all the student records, schedules, and teacher time, and missed opportunities. According to the same Sophos communications are encrypted, and the perpetrators demand report, the average cost in 2021 was $1.85 million. $50,000 for their decryption. These upward trends in payout rate and cost mean As inconceivable as it sounds, this happened to the Athens ransomware is increasing in popularity across all sectors, Independent School District in Texas, delaying the start of including the education sector. school by a week and costing the district tens of thousands of In 2020, 44% of educational organizations in Sophos’ report dollars. This is one of many examples of ransomware attacks said they were hit by ransomware attacks, tying retail for the on places such as schools, hospitals, police departments, and highest rates of ransomware. Ransomware attacks are more private companies. likely to succeed against educational organizations than the A ransomware attack is a kind of cyberattack in which average success rate. criminals encrypt the victim’s computer network, making Attacks are also much costlier for the education sector. Even it impossible for them to access. Similar to its physical though the ransom is usually smaller than other sectors, the counterpart, hackers hold the victim’s files hostage until they cleanup is much more expensive. The average ransomware pay a ransom, usually in a cryptocurrency, which is harder to attack costs educational organizations $2.73 million, almost track. 50% more than the cross-sectional average. After getting hacked, the victims have two main options to One possible explanation for this increased cost is weak get their data back. They can try to restore data from backups or pay the ransom. According to Sophos’ State of Ransomware infrastructure. After suffering a ransomware attack, a school 2021 report, the majority of victims who have had their systems district with poor IT infrastructure may rebuild its system. Targeting educational organizations has several advantages. encrypted restored their data from backups. However, 32%
40 HIGHLANDER FEATURES
Due to the aforementioned weak infrastructure, they can be easier to hack. Efforts were made to reach the Sequoia Union High School District, but they did not respond. Additionally, they can be more valuable targets. At first, this may seem counterintuitive, as the average payment is tens of thousands of dollars lower. However, according to FortiGuard Labs, the value comes from the data they can provide. “While attacking universities may not result in the large sums of ransom money that can be obtained by attacking large businesses, stolen information can be used for financial gain. Many university systems include valuable research data as well as contact information and emails for government agencies, defense industries, pharmaceutical labs, and other private companies that leverage university researchers,” a report from FortiGuard Labs said. As ransomware grows more prevalent, the importance of protecting against it grows. Unfortunately, many believe that ransomware attacks are inevitable. According to the Sophos report, many respondents who had not yet experienced a ransomware attack
believe they will experience one in the future. Forty percent of respondents believe “ransomware is so prevalent it is inevitable we will get hit.” A similar percentage believes that it’s becoming harder to stop due to their sophistication. Thankfully, the education sector is improving along with the attackers. Ninety percent of educational organizations have a plan for a cyberattack, should the worst happen. Additionally, the education sector is the most likely to admit security weaknesses, opening up an avenue for improvement. Biden also signed the K-12 Cybersecurity Act of 2021 on Oct. 8, which gives the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Director the authority to study the cybersecurity risks facing educational institutions, provide recommendations to the institutions, and create a training toolkit for schools. It seems unlikely that ransomware is going away any time soon. However, with the proper preparation and training, educational institutions and other sectors can mitigate as much damage as possible.
Education Ransomware By the numbers: Was your district affected by ransomware in 2021? Yes 44% No
56%
37% across all sectors
Average ransomware payout: Global
$170,404
Education
$112,435
$0
$50,000
$100,000 $150,000 $200,000
Average recovery cost:
$2.73 Million 48% higher than global average
61%
of respondents expect to be hit by ransomware Source: Sophos in the future Jack Hansen
90%
of respondents have a plan to recover from a ransomware ransomware attack Source: Sophos
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 41
PETS ARE THE KEY TO HAPPINESS
42 HIGHLANDER FEATURES
Keegan Balster A student sluggishly goes to class. It’s 7:30 in the morning, and their sunken eyes and hunched back are a result of assignments they completed the night before. The student’s fatigue will surely carry on into the afternoon, following an endless cycle of excessive schoolwork. While this is a case for many, other students have their pets to stop the downward spiral into negativity. Students have found pets as an effective source for emotional and mental tranquility. Additionally, the social and educational obstacles from the COVID-19 pandemic have further emphasized the necessary relief these companions provide. Max Srivastava is a senior at Carlmont and has two dogs, Lily and Lola, and two cats, Monkey and Myka. “My pets have helped me through a lot of stress over the years, especially throughout high school,” Srivastava said. “Lily will come lick and jump on anyone if they’re crying, and Monkey is always a nice presence when you’re stressed or sad.” Srivastava is among many pet owners who have found emotional support in their animal companions. The Human-Animal Bond Research Institute (HABRI) reports that a 2018 study found the majority of owners shared this common theme: pets almost instinctively understood when their owners were distressed and provided an emotional outlet at these times. This relationship between people and their pets has shown to be greatly apparent throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) found in a survey that nearly 20% of American households adopted a cat or dog since the start of the pandemic in early 2020. This means the new pets brought into about 23 million homes in the U.S. directly correlates with the global pandemic, specifically with the detriments from social distancing and quarantine. “I guess the biggest thing [during COVID] was not being able to meet new
people, and instead, being stuck in a small social bubble,” said Lukas Wiggers, a Carlmont junior and owner of his dog Roscoe and cat Squeaker. The prime explanation for the increased pet adoption rate during the pandemic is a reaction to social isolation in quarantine and the subsequent desire for company and personal interaction. “I think a lot of people struggled with isolation, and my pets have really helped me through it,” Wiggers said. “It would help anybody to have a pet that gives them social and emotional support, but it doesn’t completely make up for real human connections.” The distinction between a complete replacement of social interaction and mental support is important. HABRI concluded from a surveyed sample, including people with and without pets, that pets are found to combat loneliness directly and are integral in helping develop connections with others. Pets not only prevent social anxiety and loneliness during a transition away from social isolation, but they also provide a distraction from worries and stress. “Probably the biggest way Mia has helped me is by giving a change of pace,” said Hannah Jin, a Carlmont junior who owns a dog named Mia. “Walking Mia every day forces me to go outside and stay active when I’m not in normal online classes.” A distraction from anxieties and work is one of the core benefits of pets alongside companionship. HABRI found in a 2018 research study that almost all pet owners had the dynamic that Jin mentions, where pets prevent them from spiraling into negativity due to stressful workloads. This dynamic is significant considering the global pandemic since pets give a break from what could be otherwise dull living conditions. It makes sense that of American households with newly adopted pets during the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 90% plan to keep their new companions. “Pets will always be there for you as that consistently supportive and secure company without any form of judgment, all to help you overcome life’s stresses and worries,” Srivastava said.
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 43
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44 HIGHLANDER FEATURES
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 45
Editorial: Greenwashing is a dangerous practice Walking through your local convenience store, you see a new version of your favorite skincare item. The packaging is all green, and it is plastered with the words “New and eco-friendly!” Sure, it may be a little pricier, but you pick it up and buy it for the satisfaction of making a more sustainable shopping choice. Yet all too often, “eco-friendly” skincare items are no less sustainable than their counterparts. Despite seeminglysustainable labels, skincare products are usually packaged with the same plastic material and filled with toxic ingredients that endanger the environment, including exfoliating microbeads and triclosan. This phenomenon is called “greenwashing,” where a company gives a false impression that their products are more environmentally-friendly than the typical product line. Greenwashing employs a deceitful advertising technique that persuades consumers to buy unsustainable products hidden behind “green” packaging. According to Sea Going Green, “The central danger in greenwashing is that it can mislead people into acting unsustainably.” Greenwashing effectively persuades consumers that a particular company is more environmentally-friendly than others, even when brands uphold unsustainable practices such as animal testing and packing products with harmful preservatives. According to earth.org, a prime instance of corporate greenwashing was when Volkswagen admitted altering their emissions tests to make it seem as though their vehicles had eco-friendly aspects. In reality, their cars were emitting nitrogen oxide pollutants up to 40 times the allowed limit. This practice can also be seen through major plastic
water bottle brands like Fiji and Arrowhead, which often cover their packaging with images of nature and give a false idea that the company is more “eco-friendly.” Yet behind their advertising, their one-use plastic bottles are just as wasteful as the next. Supported by the U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a peer-reviewed journal called Environmental Health Perspectives laid out signs of greenwashing. Some primary marketing techniques include vaguely defined claims such as “all-natural” and “plantbased.” General terms and flowery language may appeal to those seeking sustainable products, but they rarely mean that the brand is more environmentally friendly in practice. Instead of purchasing a more “green” product based on its face-value branding, a quick evaluation is a much more effective technique to determine sustainability levels. Researching questions about a company’s manufacturing claims and ingredient information of certain products can reveal the truth behind a company’s sustainability claims. Shopping with intention also goes a long way—if you research products before you go into the store and avoid excessive packaging, it can become easier to avoid greenwashed products. Evaluating the sustainability of a product must not be left up to its own company; instead, look for reliable third-party labels. Green certifications from non-profit organizations such as Green Seal and Rainforest Alliance clearly define the sustainability of certain products. Ultimately, greenwashing capitalizes on shoppers even if they are conscious of their environmental footprint. As consumers, we must hold corporations accountable to produce sustainable products and be transparent with their business practices.
46 HIGHLANDER OPINION
P
h
s to o
By
in
A yl
Salahifar
Homelessness is a human rights issue Kaylene Lin I literally could not stop talking about it. The lights. The holiday music. The nostalgic buzz in the air. By the time my family arrived in Union Square for San Francisco’s annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony, 8-year-old me practically burst out of the car. But beneath the glittering lights and faint smells of hot cocoa, I remember feeling unsettled by the rather unforgiving nature of everyone there. Despite celebrating the “season of giving,” no one dared to notice the unhoused families and people on every street corner. Instead, there was an unspoken agreement to look away and walk straight ahead. As the holidays come to a close now, I feel ashamed reminiscing on that childhood trip to San Francisco, knowing that nothing has changed since then. Drowned in myths and far-reaching stereotypes, the underlying consensus to blame homelessness on the homeless population themselves only perpetuates a larger systemic problem. In 2018, Leilani Farha, a United Nations expert on housing, concluded in a report that San Francisco’s treatment of unhoused people is “a violation of multiple human
rights, including rights to life, housing, health, water, and sanitation.” These violations come from seemingly unethical practices used by the city to keep the unhoused population out of sight. For example, the Healthy Streets Operation Center (HSOC) conducted 679 “encampment resolutions,” otherwise known as the removal of unhoused people from their camps, between June 2020 and June 2021. With little notice of these sweeps given beforehand and insufficient time to collect personal belongings, these clearings only exacerbate the homeless crisis in San Francisco by uprooting unhoused people from their shelters. Additionally, the HSOC often does not provide alternative living areas after their sweeps. In February, only four shelter beds were available for every ten people cleared because of a lack of space. The amount of unhoused people in San Francisco has continued to rise despite strategies such as sweeping. In 2019, volunteers counted 8,000 people in San Francisco’s shelters, jails, and streets, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. This was a 17% jump from 2017. The general inability to address homelessness with human rights at the forefront allows the crisis to spiral into a
melting pot of outlandish and damaging stereotypes. For example, many refuse to give unhoused people money or donate to organizations because it would be spent on drugs or alcohol. This widespread misconception, among others, creates an unfairly negative public perception of those who experience homelessness. While the rates of substance abuse, mental illness, and other health issues are significantly higher among unhoused populations, citing these rates as a reason to treat people inhumanely feels unsubstantiated. After all, shouldn’t higher substance abuse or mental illness rates signal greater empathy within the public to tackle affordable housing or unemployment? San Francisco’s homelessness crisis is rooted in a lack of understanding and sympathy. The city’s refusal to treat homelessness as a human rights issue highlights the headstrong materialism underlying the United States’ capitalist system. Providing affordable and stable housing requires community-wide unity to rally for political change. But that change can only come by shifting away from the public’s unforgiving attitude towards homelessness.
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 47
History textbooks birth American exceptionalism Scan
BY Kai Yoshida
to read more on
Scot Scoop.
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 47 48 HIGHLANDER OPINION
Prestigious colleges aren't worth the price Dashboard
My Colleges My Colleges
Common App
College Search
Financial Aid Resources
Art
Payton Zolck Prestigious colleges are not worth the money they make you pay. When seniors are presented with the time to apply for college, the prestige of attending reputable colleges or Ivy Leagues has been echoed many times as the path to a successful life and career after college. However, these highly expensive, prestigious colleges aren’t worth the name. According to a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research, which followed 19,000 college graduates in their success post-grad, students attending prestigious and state colleges in the same area did not yield a vast difference in earnings. Another study conducted by economists Alan Krueger and Stacy Berg Dale revealed a similar result: students from elite schools did not earn more than students who attended less selective universities. Further, when interviewing for jobs after college, many jobs don’t consider where someone got their degree but rather the experience and characteristics that would make them the best fit for the job. Instead of focusing on the prestige of colleges and how we may look by attending these universities, we should instead examine the schools that would best fit our ideal lifestyle and would provide the best opportunities for our planned careers. Take specific career fields such as journalism, theater, music, environmental science, or computer science, for example. Choosing a school specializing in these particular fields may serve as more beneficial, as it can provide a student with many opportunities and a focused program. A specialized school or program could be more beneficial for success in a career by giving individualized opportunities, which would be harder to acquire at competitive, prestigious universities. As students, it is imperative we start considering how the
by
Nicole Coleman
school we plan to attend will serve us in terms of education. Nevertheless, ultimately it comes down to the person and their work ethic. No matter what school you decide to attend, if you are willing to put in the effort and reach out to make the connections and find the experience, you will be successful. Take two students; one is a high achieving student at a state school who reached out to work on a research project with a professor and is achieving high grades. They would probably be more successful than a slacker at Yale who is flunking their classes. Although these may seem like two extremes, it highlights the central point that inevitably, what we get from our college education comes down to us, not what school we attend. Reputable schools such as Ivy Leagues also come with a price tag. According to a study done about student loan debt by Adam Looney and Constantine Yannelis in 2014, Harvard students owed $1.2 billion, Yale students $760 million, and University of Pennsylvania students a whopping $2.1 billion. Students at other elite schools, like the University of Southern California, NYU, and Columbia, owed billions more. These immense college debts demonstrate how big the price tag for prestigious schools truly is. With the community college system, and state schools providing an affordable option for acquiring an education, if the quality of education comes down to the connections someone makes and the effort they put in, these extreme prices aren’t worth it. This is not an argument against the excellence of the academics of these schools, as they will provide their attendees with a deep and quality education. However, these schools’ opportunities don’t outweigh their price and the education you can get at less prestigious schools. Ultimately, which college you attend doesn’t necessarily matter in terms of prestige, but it is more dependent on the individual and how they use their college education to create success in their life.
JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 49
Art
by
Maya Campbell
GUN CONTROL IS NOT THE ANSWER Maya Campbell “Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.” This is a common talking point of conservatives when defending less restriction on gun laws. Although most liberal people quickly refute this point, it has more validity than most people realize. Gun control has long been considered a liberal, fair and progressive policy that helps underrepresented groups and harms oppressors. However, gun control’s true nature is not a pretty one. Gun control has inherently racist origins, and to this day, it continues to perpetuate racism towards Black Americans. However, most Americans, both conservative and liberal, either refuse to acknowledge this or are ignorant of it
entirely. Most liberal people fully support strict gun legislation. Still, gun control is not effective enough to be widely used throughout the U.S. Instead of focusing on restricting guns, we should put our energy into prevention measures such as mental health and welfare services. While gun control is not inherently racist, its enforcement is where the racism comes in. ‘Stop and frisk’ policies have disproportionately affected Black people for years, and in a 2019 NYPD report, 69% of people stopped were Black. More Black people being stopped means that statistically, more Black people are charged with carrying a weapon, resulting in higher rates of black arrests. “If you have a white, upper-middle-class guy carrying a gun versus a Black, inner-city young man carrying a gun, which one is going to be
50 HIGHLANDER OPINION
stopped? The Black man. The white man, who is guilty of the same offense, gets away with it, and no one ever knows,” said Adam Winkler, a professor at The University of California Los Angeles who specializes in gun control. The debate over gun control also has many parallels to the abortion debate. Full support for abortion is a common liberal policy of today, but funnily enough, support for gun control skews the opposite direction. “When I ask my students about guns, most of them being liberal, imminently claim full support for extremely strict gun control. However, once I bring up keeping the same strictness on abortion, immediately I hear discourse over bodily autonomy and rights,” Winkler said. Both sides of the debate claim restriction of abortion or gun control is an infringement on their rights. Despite that, concerning guns, it is often brought up that gun violence is too prevalent to cut down on gun restrictions. However, how effective is gun control in stopping gun violence? To answer this question, one can look back to the abortion debate. If abortions are outright
A
by rt
Andrew Shu
banned, people will result to obtaining them illegally. This same logic can be applied to gun control; “Gun trafficking is a huge issue, and I think it’s more important to crack down on that than to ban assault rifles,” Winkler said. Gun trafficking is illegally selling guns, and as gun restrictions go up, so does the rate of gun trafficking. Just because something is illegal doesn’t mean people won’t do it. Gun violence is illegal but look at the state of our country now. It is marked by mass shootings, with 20,000 people killed by guns in 2020 alone. So, what can we do? Is our country beyond saving? The answer lies in prevention and harm reduction. More mental health outreach in poor, marginalized communities can prevent the circumstances that lead to gun violence from happening in the first place. According to Everytown Research, over 60 in 100 gun deaths are a result of suicide. Therefore, mental health outreach will get to the root of many gun deaths and stifle the problem at the source. Another thing that can help curb gun violence is more education on safe gun procedures and storage, which can help prevent accidental gun death and child access to guns. Overall, gun violence is one of the most pressing issues in American society today. The natural response is the full-scale restriction of the perceived problem: guns. However, people need to realize that the problem of gun violence isn’t as simple as an assault rifle ban.
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Unspoken beauty standards reveal social biases
Art
by Isabelle
Nunes
52 HIGHLANDER OPINION
the more attractive faces quicker than the less attractive ones. What qualities define how we She and her research team are perceived? Our personalities, discovered higher levels of how we interact with others, brain activity when looking and our sense of humor are at an unattractive face than all defining factors. However, an attractive one. Langlois in today’s society, beauty also found that we can exhibit determines everything. positive bias and positive As my peers have noticed, if associate events with attractive someone is more conventionally faces. Other biases related to attractive, others might view that favoring one person over the person as preferable or goodother also exist, with some being hearted than someone with polar more judgemental. opposite features. Beauty is a A summary of a book unique concept but is frequently discussing the issue of distorted and ruined by its appearance discrimination, traits along with its undisclosed The Beauty Bias: The Injustice standards. of Appearance in Life and Law, One specific trait included has the central argument of in beauty is its unspoken rules how extensive this problem is or “standards.” Whether it be present in our world. Deborah applying for a job or having L. Rhode, who wrote the book, a conversation with a peer, argues that we need to advocate the perception of one’s beauty against its complete acceptance can influence not only those by society, or else the status scenarios’ outcomes but also quo will never change. Rhode is their underlying standards. correct as these prevailing norms Although this may seem just a usually are blindly accepted by coincidence, many continuously society but are not society’s fault pointed out this observation. An alone. The beauty and media explanation for this coincidence industries exploit them heavily, is called beauty bias. gaining immense profits from Beauty bias, commonly individuals trying to escape or referred to as “pretty privilege,” cover their insecurities. hands rewards to those that The increase of social media’s society views as physically presence in the last ten years attractive, where beauty should has led to preoccupations with not be part of the criteria. appearance have become more This idea is a grave problem outstanding. That feeling of not in our daily lives because it being respected by others for not is a subconscious decision to looking like society’s “beautiful” favor those we see as attractive. is a much more familiar feeling Found in a study conducted now amongst most, myself by Judith Langlois published included. Some people have tried in Developmental Psychology, to achieve this beauty perfection young children could identify by altering their appearances Catherine Eikelbarner
in various ways, including cosmetic surgery. Cosmetic surgery manipulates appearances in major or minor courses, and the desire for it can become more prominent through social media usage. Often when someone gets cosmetic surgery, they do not speak about the surgery, leading others who see their adjustments to become more insecure and obsessed with fixing their image. Although there is nothing wrong with getting cosmetic surgery, there is something wrong with why many people choose to get it. The main problem is how individuals’ values of self-worth are attached to their appearances and how they feel that they do not belong in society’s lens because of it. This obscured lens favors a few but ridicules the rest, leaving the lingering feeling of “not being pretty enough.” Recognizing that unspoken beauty standards and bias exist is the first step in fighting this idea of beauty and eliminating these standards. Realizing that beauty involves other aspects of oneself, one’s sincere beauty, is the true lesson from this reoccurring standard. Beauty is not just about appearance, but also how kind you are to others, making small gestures for your friends, and embracing those qualities. Such qualities reflect what type of person you truly are, which is extremely beautiful. JANUARY 2022 HIGHLANDER 53
54 HIGHLANDER OPINION
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